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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24298630">He Had the Sun in His Eyes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/badilllac/pseuds/badilllac'>badilllac</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band), Atiny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Death, Childhood Friends, Coming of Age, Death, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Male Friendship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:01:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,489</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24298630</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/badilllac/pseuds/badilllac</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yunho meets all his best friends but maybe, just maybe, he loves the boy who had the sun in his eyes a little more than just the best friends they say they are.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>He Had the Sun in His Eyes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey! This is my first written work that I've ever posted and it's completed. Please enjoy it! :)</p><p>TW// mention of abuse, bullying, foster care system, poverty, death, self hate.<br/>--please be aware that there are mentions that are not too descriptive but some maybe more descriptive than others (ie. a character's death may be more descriptive as well as feelings after a character's death) of these warnings but I know even slight mentions can be a bit triggering so me audiences. I am not in any way trying to romanticize any of these topics but am trying to show that these are indeed very real things that can happen and that do happen and that these things can sometimes bring people together. </p><p>again please read at your own risk and feel free to leave any messages of constructive criticism of things you enjoyed, didn't like, or things you think I should fix in my curious cat.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was known to everyone that Mingi and Yunho were close; so close that even among their friend group of 8 nobody truly could understand them the way they understood each other, and they’ve all been friends since elementary school. They all became friends around the same time, one after the other it seemed like. To Yunho’s mom, who had never seen Yunho bring anybody home before his father left, it now had seemed that Yunho was finally opening up to other kids and every other week for a few months she was surprised to see a new face in her house. Yunho was finally settling and establishing a stable life both at home and with his new group of best friends, and this made Yunho’s mother beyond happy. </p><p>Yunho had somehow become friends with Wooyoung first. Wooyoung was known as the obnoxiously loud student in their entire grade. Wooyoung just loved socializing and making friends, but because of his loud personality nobody had ever truly taken a proper liking to Wooyoung. Until Yunho’s father left and he no longer felt trapped by his father’s belittling stare and harsh actions, he felt like he could make friends and bring them home without them questioning his different home life although he would later open up to his best friends about what happened with his father. Wooyoung was unwanted by the entire grade, just like Yunho was unwanted by his own father. It was a bit much to be comparing Wooyoung being unwanted by the kids at his school and Yunho being unwanted by his father, but still this is how Yunho connected Wooyoung to himself at such a young age and he still connects the boy to himself this way, among other ways as they’ve grown together, as a young adult. He would never change the way he connected himself to Wooyoung, never in a million years and not if he could redo his childhood all over again because this is what brought them together in the first place. One day, Wooyoung was feeling especially down at his many failed attempts at making friends and was sitting by himself during their free time coloring and being <em> quiet. </em> Yunho had never seen the boy be so quiet and he could tell he was upset because everyone knew Wooyoung as the loud boy in year 5 with a bright personality and Wooyoung was definitely not acting that way the day Yunho had approached him. Yunho had a kind soul and a pure heart. Anyone who knew him would know that. So it didn’t come to a surprise to Yunho’s mother when she learned that her son had approached Wooyoung, stuck his hand out, and straight out announced his dedication to Wooyoung and to being his best friend for the rest of their lives. Wooyoung was a bit skeptical and Yunho saw this, so to show he was being honest and true he drew an x over his heart and with a big smile he whispered <em> ‘cross my heart.’ </em>Wooyoung’s smile had never been so big before in his life so when Yunho said that he shook his hand and pulled him into the seat next to him. After that day, Yunho and Wooyoung were stuck at their hips. Neither of them had ever had a best friend before let alone just a normal friend, so they were both pretty excited about their new friendship and all the fun things they would do together. </p><p>The thing about Yunho and his best friends is that they all had met each other through Yunho. He was their common ground and the connection they had and it was common for people to get jealous of their best friend becoming friends with other people and other people being brought into their relationship because they would have to share, but that wasn’t the case for them. They all knew Yunho to have such a kind soul that they couldn’t ever be jealous of who he became friends with next because their happiness was so influenced by Yunho’s happiness and he was truly the mood maker of the group. Yunho wanted to befriend everyone it seemed like to them because Yunho was constantly introducing new people to the group. He was so friendly to everyone he met and always had pure intentions that his friends just wanted to shelter Yunho and protect his heart, but in a way that’s what Yunho was trying to provide for his best friends.</p><p>Next was San. San was new to the school and was sat next to Yunho. San was very quiet, significantly different from Wooyoung’s refreshing personality. San kept to himself mostly until right before lunch came on his first day when Yunho kindly invited him to sit with Wooyoung and himself so he didn’t have to eat alone and could get to know some new people and make some friends. San was timid but still nodded in agreement. At this point, San still had yet to speak a word to Yunho or to anyone really, not even to the teacher. As San followed behind Yunho with his lunch pail clutched tightly in his small fists in anxiousness, Yunho explained that he didn’t have to say anything during lunch if he got too anxious and that Wooyoung had a bit of an overwhelming personality so he understood that it’d be a lot to take in at first. “Wooyoung has good intentions, he just can’t express it as calmly as you and me, and that’s ok. That’s why we show him and teach him that when expressing himself to people, especially new people, he needs to try and express himself calmly because everyone responds to his loudness differently. He’s just an excited kid.” San calmed a bit at Yunho’s words. Yunho seemed like an angel to him, he had never heard someone speak so kindly about their best friend and he’s never been spoken to so kindly before either. They had finally met up with Wooyoung and both of the boys could see the excitement bubbling in his eyes. When they sat down, Yunho introduced San to Wooyoung and with balled up fists digging into the table beside his lunch tray he spoke calmly and kindly. Just like Yunho taught him. “Hi, I’m Wooyoung!” And after his introduction he proceeded to tell Yunho about the new set of trading cards he had gotten this past weekend and showed them to both Yunho and San excitedly. “You like them, Sannie?” San looked up with a smile and nodded. “I have some plastic sheets you can have to protect your cards if you want them.” Wooyoung looked up and smiled at San. “Only if you don’t mind. Mom and I haven’t been able to find any.” Yunho watched his two friends getting along so well with a smile. San was so happy to have friends that he could comfortably hang out with. San was timid every time Yunho brought someone new to meet them. He was terrified to be brutally beaten and bullied like he was at his previous school. Yunho learned that San being bullied was the reason he had moved to their school and Yunho made a vow to himself unbeknownst to San that he would forever protect San from anyone and everyone who ever tried to mess with him. Yunho didn’t want San to ever feel the pain of being beaten by anyone and belittled like he had been by his father. Pain is pain and Yunho didn’t want San or Wooyoung to experience any kind of pain.</p><p>After San came Yeosang. Yeosang had just moved into Yunho’s neighborhood. He had actually moved in next door and one day while the boys were playing outside, Yeosang was also out but by himself. He was skateboarding back and forth across the street and then doing little tricks in his driveway. He doesn’t know how, he just had a feeling seeing the way the boy played by himself that he was alone. Just like Yunho and Wooyoung and San once were, Yeosang was also alone. While Wooyoung and San had gone inside to grab a cold drink Yunho walked across the grass approaching a still Yeosang who was lying in the grass with his eyes closed. Yunho scared him when he spoke and he sat up quickly to see who had approached him. It was his tall boy of a neighbor. Yunho apologized and Yeosang nodded, patting the grass next to him. Yunho sat down and began talking. “I’m Yunho and my two best friends are over today. Their names are Wooyoung and San. Would you like to come play with us?” Yeosang looked over to Yunho’s house where he could begin to hear one of the boys screaming in excitement as they made their way out, then behind himself at his own house. Yunho could feel the skepticism coming from Yeosang. “It’s ok if you can’t or don’t want to but you’re always free to come by.” Yunho smiled when Yeosang turned back around. Yunho knew deep down that Yeosang was currently home alone. Yunho watched the day they moved in, just the young boy who he learned from his mother taking some dinner over to their house was Yeosang and his mother. No father, just like Yunho. He didn’t know where the boy's father was, he just knew that he wasn’t there. And that Yeosang was home alone in a two story house, so he really wanted Yeosang to come over because he felt the overwhelming need to protect him while he was home all by himself. Yeosang eventually nodded and both boys stood to walk back to Yunho’s house just as his two other friends made their way outside. “Guys, this is Yeosang.” The boy timidly stood there quiet, waiting for a reaction. Wooyoung was the first to smile and welcome Yeosang by asking him if he wanted to play with them. Yunho smiled, he knew he could count on his boy to welcome everyone and make everyone feel welcomed. Yunho wrapped his arm around a quiet San who blushed a little and smiled while softly patting on his chest to say ‘<em> hey, it’s okay. Take your time with it.’ </em>San nodded and sat down on the grass as Wooyoung explained the game to Yeosang. Yeosang ended up staying for dinner that night and went back home to ask his mom if he could spend the night to which she approved of. That night it was just Yunho and Yeosang because the other two had to go home so it was pretty quiet without Wooyoung. Yunho loved Wooyoung and all of his quirks, but it was nice every once in a while to be able to breathe in silence. Yunho found out that night that Yeosang’s mother was a nurse and that his father had recently passed away. Yeosang was the first of all the boys to find out about what happened to Yunho’s father. He doesn’t know why he did it. Yeosang’s father was dead and as far as he knew, he was a good man. Unlike Yunho’s very much alive and piece of crap father. But both of their father’s were gone and that they could connect over. Yunho wished he had his dad back but he also wished that his father was different and didn’t come home every night to beat him and his mother and belittle Yunho telling him he’d never be a real man. So Yunho vowed to himself that he’d take care of Yeosang for his father and help Yeosang’s mother with helping her son with homework and giving him a place to go when she worked long shifts. Yeosang’s mother falls in love with Yunho and later thanks him and his mother for taking her son in when she couldn’t take care of him. Yunho assured her that he loved her son like a brother and that he really didn’t mind taking him in.</p><p>Seonghwa was a weird one. He was a grade older than the boys so it was a bit confusing to others but they still hung out at lunch and outside of school. Yunho had been telling jokes to Wooyoung, San, and Yeosang when Seonghwa had passed by and just so happened to hear Yunho telling a joke. Seonghwa admitted it was a great joke, except Yunho was telling it wrong. So Seonghwa stopped and stood opposite of Yunho to tell him exactly that. “You’re telling the joke wrong.” Yunho registered what he said and then looked at his friends' faces to see them indeed looking confused and nodding their heads. “It goes like this.” And after Seonghwa had told the joke CORRECTLY, the boys bursted into laughter finally understanding the joke. San was the first to make a comment. “How did you butcher that joke so bad?” His eyes closed into moon crescents as he laughed. Yunho looked at Seonghwa and introduced himself and as the laughter died down the rest of the boys introduced themselves as well. Yunho liked Seonghwa’s aura, it pulled him in and had him thinking that the older boy would be a great addition to their group of friends. “Would you like to come hang out with us after school?” Seonghwa locked eyes with Yunho, trying to see some type of deceit hidden behind his eyes, but to no avail he found none. So Seonghwa finally nodded and looked at the others with a small smile. “Let’s meet at the front gate and we can walk together.”  Seonghwa had walked away, still a little skeptical but ended up showing up anyway at the end of the school day. Yunho smiled and began the walk back to his house. Yunho could feel the skepticism coming from Seonghwa just like he felt from Yeosang the day they met. Yunho had never experienced such uneasiness, not from San and not from Yeosang. Yunho knew this time around he had to be cautious and give the boy some space. Seonghwa was uneasy the whole time and kept checking the time on his watch. And when Seonghwa was invited for dinner, Yunho could see how desperation and excitement flashed quickly past his eyes. At the end of the evening Yunho had figured it out and asked his mom to fix up a couple of big plates for Seonghwa to take home for his family to try since dinner was so delicious, but Yunho knew. Yunho locked eyes with Seonghwa and he knew. Yunho walked Seonghwa out and gave him a big hug. “You can come over anytime and ask me for anything. Don’t hesitate, we’re friends now and that’s what friends do.” Yunho pulled away and gave Seonghwa a big smile. Seonghwa nodded and began his walk home where he knew his mother and brother were hungry, wondering when they would get a full hot meal. Seonghwa cried while he walked home. He was so grateful that Yunho was as kind as he was to just willingly offer things to him. Seonghwa’s family has never been rich, they’ve barely been able to maintain a steady well paying stream of income. With poverty comes sacrifices and Seonghwa, his brother, and their mother have sacrificed plenty. They had no proper heating so they had all shared a big mattress together with a small rotating heater at their feet to keep them warm through the brutal winters. They didn’t have a well working stove and it would sometimes take hours to heat up something as simple as a hot dog. That night Seonghwa and his family cried together, so thankful for Yunho to have come into their lives. Yunho was a blessing and Yunho understood without Seonghwa saying anything or explaining his situation. Poverty had completely engulfed him and made him see so much misfortune in the world but Yunho was the light in the dark world Seonghwa and his family was living in. When Yunho had finally met Seonghwa’s mother, she hugged Yunho so tight and sobbed into his shoulder, thanking him for everything he had done for her son and their family. Yunho was nearly brought to tears as he explained that it was no problem at all and that he would do anything for Seonghwa as he saw him as a brother. </p><p>Yunho approached Hongjoong one day when he was inside the school's music room. Hongjoong had been playing the piano so beautifully and Yunho was entranced by the chords that flowed across the room and into Yunho’s ears. Hongjoong was singing short verses in between different chords he played. What stood out the most to Yunho though was the long rattail the young boy had trailing down his back. Suddenly the music had stopped and Yunho didn’t realize that the other had stopped and turned to look at him. The boy at the piano looked shy, cheeks turning a light shade of pink as he looked back at the keys. “Did you hear all that?” He looked scared of Yunho’s answer and Yunho didn’t know why. At this point in time, Yunho had become known amongst the kids of their grade as the kindest boy who looks after his best friends like they were brothers. Yunho had heard of Hongjoong. He was the shy music nerd in year 6 but Yunho knew that the boy was just incredibly talented and those whose music abilities didn’t reach Hongjoong’s were just jealous because Yunho himself was a bit jealous of the boy's talents. But Yunho didn’t let his jealousy really grow, it was more of a motivation for him to work hard like Hongjoong had done and just maybe he’ll reach such talents one day. Yunho had noticed that Hongjoong sat alone in the music room everyday during free time and even spent their recess time there. He was always playing different combinations of chords and singing lyrics that were unfamiliar to Yunho, although once they became friends the lyrics began to become very familiar to all the boys. Yunho smiled and nodded. “You’re really talented.” Hongjoong looked up in surprise. “You think so?” Yunho nodded. “I never heard an idol let alone someone so young play and sing so beautifully.” It looked like Hongjoong was about to cry, so Yunho walked up to him and sat with him. “I sing sometimes, it depends. I mostly sing at home but occasionally I sing with our church choir. But I’m definitely not as good as you.” Hongjoong shook his head, disagreeing with what the tall boy had said. Yunho turned to the boy. “What’s your name? I’m Yunho.” The boy smiled so bright. “Hongjoong.” Both boys looked up as the bell rang. “Meet me at the front gate after school, you should come hang out with my friends and I after school.” Hongjoong smiled and nodded in agreement. Yunho’s mother and even the boys noticed, but Hongjoong was like Yunho. His heart was so pure and he wanted nothing but for all of the boys to be happy always. His family was pretty rich and so they could afford plenty of things the boys couldn’t afford, so it came to a surprise when Hongjoong offered to take Seonghwa and his family shopping for a few new things as well as help as much as they were comfortable letting him. Hongjoong was another blessing in their eyes and all the boys always cherished and protected the boy from anything that could possibly hurt him. Yunho respected Hongjoong so much and thought very highly of him. He was a perfect angel in his eyes and he made sure to always treat the boy right. Hongjoong didn’t care about status and he never brought up his own status unless asked. He respected all the boys despite their backgrounds and statuses. He didn’t care about all that, he just wanted to make people happy with his music and his personality and have friends he could trust forever. Hongjoong truly was the embodiment of pure angel and everyone knew it.</p><p>Jongho was a bit of a bully, so nobody really knows how Jongho came to be friends with the purest and most diverse group of boys who all had their very fair share of baggage when it seemed that Jongho didn’t and that they were exactly the type of boys he would bully. Things were significantly different this time around. Yunho didn’t approach Jongho. Well neither of them really had the intentions of ever approaching each other, simply because they weren’t really on each other’s radars at all. But fate had a different idea and one day while all of the boys were playing together in the park, Jongho had accidentally kicked a soccer ball that had a straight path for Yunho’s stomach. With a grunt, Yunho had collapsed onto his knees clutching his stomach as his friends gathered around him wide-eyed and confused. Yunho was laughing a bit as Jongho approached Yunho with the ball under his arm. “I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” Still wide-eyed, Yunho’s friends looked at the culprit and slowly and discreetly kind of created a bit of a space between them and Jongho. Yunho, laughing a bit, stuck his hand out and nodded as Jongho helped lift him. “Yeah, I’m good. You have some pretty crazy aim.” Jongho furrowed his eyebrows, looking a bit angry. “I wasn't <em> trying </em>to hit you. It was an accident.” Yunho nodded. “It’s alright, I know you didn’t mean it.” Yunho tried to calm the boy and it seemed to work as his facial muscles visibly loosened up. Yunho looked beyond Jongho’s shoulder and noticed an empty field. He had been practicing alone. “Hey do you mind if my friends and I kick the ball around with you for a little?” Jongho looked at Yunho like he was crazy. Crazy for wanting to play with the boy who kicked a ball straight into his stomach. “Uh, yeah sure, I don’t mind.” Yunho smiled and looked back to his friends and nodded his head towards the field where Jongho was retreating to. The boys looked at him like he was out of his mind but still followed behind their unspoken leader. The boys were laughing and screaming at each other at the end of the day. They were sweaty and lying down in the grass, green blades causing the boys to itch at their skin a bit. Jongho felt accepted into their group and he felt like he belonged. He shared with the boys that this had been the most fun he had had in a long time as his soccer friends never invited him to their hangouts and when he asked they never wanted to join him. It was something he put up with being a part of the upperclassmen’s soccer team instead of the little league. Jongho had always been good at soccer and it wasn’t really a surprise when Jongho announced he wanted to try out for the older students team and it was even less of a surprise when he actually made the team. The older kids didn’t take a liking to him, because he was younger than them and he was better than them and they all knew this. For this reason, Jongho faced discrimination from the team he thought he’d have fun being a part of. This anger towards his team is what fueled his fire to begin picking on younger students as well. They did nothing to him but he didn’t do anything wrong to his teammates and so he wanted someone to feel his pain and his anger. Yunho spoke seriously. “You can be our friend,” his best friends all turned their heads in his direction. “But you can’t be bullying people anymore. We don’t do that here and you have to understand that we’ll never tolerate that because we all understand how it feels to be on the receiving end and to just be outcast for things that we can’t control. It has to stop.” Tears stung at Jongho’s eyes. “Of course. I’ll stop.” Yunho nodded and pat the younger's shoulder. “Alright, that’s good.” He sat up and looked at the time on his watch. “We gotta go home now but we’ll see you at school.” Yunho smiled at him as they all stood up and went their separate ways.</p><p>Mingi. Mingi’s eyes sparkled, Yunho had noticed at their young age. They sparkled such bright stars, Yunho was convinced that Mingi had the sun for eyes. He was never able to meet his eyes for long when they first met they would blind Yunho and cause a red color to stain his ears. Mingi was such a happy kid and actually became well known around the school as just that happy kid everyone wanted to be friends with immediately when he first moved to their school. Yunho didn’t care about anything for days but that he <em> had </em>to be friends with the boy with the sun in his eyes. Despite everyone in the school wanting to be friends with Mingi, he didn’t really have much fun whenever they would invite him to play. Yunho and his group of friends were the last kids who were able to get a chance to play with Mingi, everyone was constantly inviting him to play and the poor boy couldn’t say no to all the puppy dog faces all the kids pulled. When Yunho got the courage to walk up to the beautiful boy, he stuttered a whole lot and his ears burned a bright red under his long hair. Yunho was so embarrassed but Mingi thought it was cute that he was so nervous to ask him to go play. Mingi couldn’t let the boy embarrass himself anymore so he cut Yunho off with a hand on his shoulder. “I would like to go play with you later.” Yunho’s cheeks tinted a light pink color as he nodded and smiled. “I’m Yunho.” Mingi smiled and walked away as the bell sounded off to return to class. Yunho let out a puff of air that he was holding in his lungs when he was finally alone. Mingi made him so nervous and he didn’t really understand why. Mingi was just a boy and Yunho was surrounded by plenty everyday. Except Mingi was different. He wasn’t like Wooyoung, he wasn’t like San, he wasn’t like Yeosang, he wasn’t like Seonghwa, he wasn’t like Hongjoong, he wasn’t like Jongho, and he wasn’t like any of the other boys in Yunho’s class. He was special. At such a young age Yunho was able to recognize and appreciate a beauty that some people didn’t recognize until much later in life or never in their lives at all. Mingi’s smile brought a new type of warmth to Yunho’s heart and maybe it was the sun shining in his soul too. When the end of the school day came that day, Yunho was sweating bullets and his best friends stood around him poking a bit of fun at him. “Who's got Yunho so nervous? I’ve never seen him like this before.” Of course Wooyoung would be the one to point out the one thing Yunho wanted to control but he couldn’t handle all the nerves running through his body. Mingi finally arrived and all the boys shut up. “Mingi’s coming over to play with us today.” And then Yunho began walking all the boys trailing behind him as they all started talking about stuff that happened during class and getting to know what kinds of games Mingi liked to play. Yunho walked into his house grabbing Mingi’s wrist gently and walking around in search of his mother so he could introduce the new boy to his mother. Mingi’s cheeks were tinted pink at the gesture and he kept his eyes low as Yunho dragged him around. Mingi had taken a liking to Yunho from the beginning as well. When Yunho showed up in front of him, a stuttering mess he had already known who he was. He had seen him around school and asked a few kids about him and Mingi was more than excited when Yunho finally approached him. They stopped. “Mom, this is Mingi. He’s playing with us today.” Yunho’s mother looked down and smiled at the two boys. She knew Mingi was different. She knew it in the way Yunho had personally dragged him to meet her, she knew it in the sweat that was shining around his cheeks, she knew it in the way Yunho smiled, and she also knew it when Yunho later came to lay with his mother hugging her with a big smile, a way Yunho hadn’t hugged her since he was a toddler. Everything about Mingi seemed to be perfect, nothing could tear apart Mingi’s image to Yunho. Not even when Yunho found out that Mingi’s biological parents decided they just didn’t want him after being there for the first five years of his life. Mingi’s biological parents were never suited for parenthood and they never wanted a child either, so it was a decision they both could both agree on. Ever since then, Mingi has bounced around orphanages to foster homes and to other foster homes. But Yunho was there when his foster parents put in the paperwork to finally adopt Mingi and that made everything perfect for Mingi. So Yunho had thought. They were able to play together everyday without the worry of Mingi being taken away to another home, it was just him and Mingi. </p><p>When the boys were about to enter high school Mingi encouraged Yunho to take the leap and try out for the soccer team. Yunho had been doubtful about trying out because he didn’t want to be so preoccupied with  soccer that he couldn’t hang out with Mingi anymore, but the sun shined a bright smile and assured Yunho that he would be ok and attend every soccer game and sleep over whenever he wanted. Some days Yunho would invite the boys to go kick the ball around with him at the field and with heavy breaths and a hand clutched to their chest, Seonghwa and Mingi would always end up trudging to the edge of the field for a break from all the running and over exertion. When Yunho and Jongho played, they played aggressively and intensely. Mingi and Seonghwa were never able to keep up with them and eventually one by one all the boys would plop down beside Mingi and Seonghwa in defeat until it was just the two boys going head to head. Eventually, Mingi would show less and less at their soccer scrimmages and miss more and more school. Mingi was always tired from what Yunho understood but he never pushed Mingi when he didn’t want to do anything. More nights were spent sleeping over at Mingi’s house where all the boys would watch movies and indulge in lots of snacks and maybe Yunho and Mingi would hold hands under the blanket and steal secret looks at the other. The boys were growing older, and with age came new responsibilities. Yunho had to get a job, his mother wasn’t going to be able to pay completely for his college tuitions. Yunho always assured his mother not to worry about that because he was going to apply for scholarships and play soccer for his college on a scholarship. Yunho was the pride of the group. He was going places, he had a plan. A plan he put a lot of thought into. Eventually Yunho was unable to hang out with his best friends as much and he too was always tired. Still, Yunho was always the one to arrange small get-togethers and bring things to the boys when he would visit. Yunho saw Jongho the most as he too joined the soccer team when he eventually entered high school. They talked a lot about the boys and during one of their soccer camps is when Yunho finally confessed to one of his best friends how in love he was with the sun in Mingi’s eyes and the warmth of his soul. For a few months, Jongho tried so hard to call more get-togethers in hopes that they would encourage Yunho to confess his love to the bright boy, but to no avail. Yunho was too busy with life and school and soccer. He knew he would only disappoint Mingi if they got together because he wouldn’t be able to commit such time to him. He was barely able to attend their get-togethers now without individually meeting up with Mingi for dates, there was no way he’d be able to juggle a job, school, soccer, and a relationship all at once. He was already so busy. So busy that he hadn’t noticed the fire in Mingi’s eyes slowly going out and the warmth in his soul chilling. He was so busy that he didn’t notice when Mingi would check the time and his face would discreetly let out the pain he was feeling. He never noticed Mingi anymore, not even when Yunho was leaving Mingi’s room and he reached out to Yunho with a pained look on his face. But it was too dark that night, and Yunho figured the boy was just dreaming. So he tucked Mingi’s arm back into the blanket and made his way home. </p><p>He was busy, even on the morning he got the call. It was a Saturday morning and Yunho was working his usual shift at the youth center. He was overseeing the kids playing on the soccer field when he was called into the office by his manager. He had a call waiting for him. With a smile he switched out with one of the other youth directors. He grabbed the phone and answered with a smile as he looked out at the soccer field through a window. <em> “Mingi’s gone.” </em> Yunho’s smile fell a little. “I’m sorry, what?” His eyes followed the boys kicking the ball around on the field. Mingi’s mother said it again. “What do you mean gone? How’d it happen?” She voiced her confusion. <em> “He didn’t tell you?” </em> Yunho was so confused and so frustrated, he just wanted the boy who had the sun shining through his soul to come onto the line or even walk into his job with a smile on his face and admit to the cruel joke he had his mother playing on him. <em> “Yunho, Mingi had a heart disease. He was getting worse, he knew he didn’t have much time.” </em> Suddenly the past couple of years played behind his eyes like a tape and he began crying. He thought he just tired out easily and got sick easily. He didn’t know his best friend was <em> dying. </em>He wished he could hold onto Mingi’s warm soul just a little bit longer. He wished he could run his fingers through Mingi’s soft locks one last time. God, he wished he could finally feel Mingi’s lips against his own. He hated that of all the things he didn’t see in the past 17 years of his life, it was the pain on his best friend's face and the final glimmer of fire in the love of his life's eyes. He hated it so much. He was left to remember the late nights his father would come home to beat his mother before indulging in his alcoholic tendencies and scream profound names at his mother but for the life of Yunho, he couldn’t even make up in his mind the pained looks and the lack of warmth Mingi’s fingers and body held. Mingi didn't tell him. Yunho couldn’t stop thinking about that as he watched eight young boys running around laughing and kicking a ball around the field. His best friend didn’t tell him that he was dying, that his time was running out, fast. </p><p>A memory came back to him. He kicked the ball over to Wooyoung who easily tripped over it when Seonghwa and Mingi were walking off the field. Mingi’s pace was slow and his hand was clutching his chest, <em> below his heart. </em> Mingi had turned around and <em> smiled </em> at Yunho when he sat down. Yunho thought everything was ok. Mingi showing up less to school also made a lot more sense. He was dying and he knew it and sometimes the pain would be so bad he’d have to be admitted to the hospital, but there was only so much they could do for a boy whose fate was etched into his heart, <em> literally. </em> Yunho wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted <em> Mingi. </em> “I’m sorry, I have to call you back in a bit.” Yunho hung up. The guilt was eating him up. <em> Did his best friends know about Mingi’s condition? </em> He stood, tears in his eyes, as he told his manager he really needed to go. When Yunho finally walked out of the building he was at a loss for words. He didn’t know where to go, he certainly couldn’t go to his best friends house. His best friend was <em> dead. </em> He went anyway and when Mingi’s mother opened the door, he collapsed in her arms immediately. “We found him earlier a little bit before I called. He’s still upstairs if you would like to see him.” Yunho wiped his eyes and nodded, vision drawing towards the stairs that led to Mingi’s room. Yunho didn’t know what he was expecting. He doesn’t think he was really expecting anything at all, his mind was preoccupied with the thought of his best friend being dead. Mingi’s fingers were cold and his usually active chest was still. Yunho couldn’t control the sobs that racked his chest and the tears that escaped from his eyes. Mingi was dead from something that caused him so much pain day in and day out and yet, he kept his pain so hidden from everyone. Mingi’s hair was flat against his forehead, covering his eyes; so Yunho, with a shaking hand, took it upon himself to move the hair. His face was ice cold but Yunho could remember a time when Mingi would laugh so hard his cheeks painted pink and the warmth radiated onto everyone next to him. Mingi was always their angel. Despite everything all the boys went through, they weirdly all found themselves especially protective over Mingi. He was an angel who had everyone wrapped around his finger and he didn’t even know it. Everyone was attracted to the boy's warm soul and the sun that shined so bright through his eyes. <em> That’s it, </em>Yunho thinks. That was why everyone gravitated towards him. Mingi, with the sun in his eyes, was the center of the universe, and everyone else was the planets that revolved around him. Mingi was the center of this universe and with him gone, Yunho doesn’t think the universe will ever spin the same.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Don't forget to leave kudos and leave comments on what you'd like to see. :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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